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Akkadia, a listed equity joint venture is parting ways with French buyout firm PAI Partners, which owned a 50% stake in the company.

Akkadia’s managers, led by Philippe Guez, Deutsche Bank’s former head of investment banking in France and head of equities in France and Italy, are setting up an independent consultancy. Akkadia has three managers listed on its website, although one, Guillaume Moinet, has already departed.

The operation, which was formed in 2008 shortly before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, had hoped to raise third-party funds, although these efforts were shelved in April last year because of the difficult fundraising environment, according to a source, who said the joint venture would cease to exist, although the managers might chose to retain the name Akkadia. The source said PAI would become the first client of Akkadia, signalling the amicable nature of the separation.

PAI declined to comment. The members of Akkadia did not respond to requests for comment.

The source said the end of Akkadia was unrelated to the difficulties at PAI, which halved its main buyout fund to €2.7bn ($3.6bn) in December last year after talks with investors following the departure of senior executives.
Separately it has emerged Lennart Holm, a partner and head of PAI’s Nordic team, stepped back into a senior adviser role last year. He remains focused on the firm’s investment in Perstorp.